As the new federal
organic standards take effect October 21, 2002, a number of environmental
and public health groups concerned with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) treatment of the organic standards have taken legal action to
protect the integrity of the organics. The Center for Food Safety (CFS),
Beyond Pesticides, National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural
Advancement Foundation International-USA, and Union of Concerned Scientists
filed a formal legal petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). The petition demands that the agency immediately establish a
peer review panel to oversee the agency's accrediting of organic certifiers.
The peer review panel is mandated by both a statute and regulation yet
USDA has repeatedly refused to establish this crucial oversight body.

Appropriate certification
of organic farms is the fundamental enforcement mechanism of organic
standards. Fueling public concern over a reduction in the integrity
of the new "organic" label is the appearance of numerous new,
previously unknown certifying agents applying to USDA for accreditation.
Since 2000, the number of organic certifying agents has jumped from
49 to 122. This unexpected increase in the number of accreditation applicants
raises troubling questions about USDA's ability to properly assess the
qualifications of the large volume of new certifiers seeking accreditation.

Equally disturbing
is the agency's refusal to institute the legally mandated, public Peer
Review Panel designed to evaluate the USDA's accreditation of organic
certifiers. The Peer Review Panel called for in the Organic Food Production
Act is the public enforcement mechanism designed to ensure USDA's accreditation
procedures and decisions are appropriate and comport with the law. Absent
this Peer Review Panel, consumer groups, many organic farmers and farmer-based
certifying organizations fear that large agribusiness corporations will
have an undue influence on who will be certifying organic producers
and how that certification will be conducted.

CFS Executive Director
Andrew Kimbrell stated, "The agency's refusal to allow for independent
oversight of its actions threatens the integrity of the "organic"
label. The decision on who is to certify organic foods needs to be in
full view of the public, where it cannot be influenced by corporate
interests."

Farmer-based certifying
entities are especially concerned that without adequate oversight of
the USDA accreditation program they will be discriminated against by
the agency during review and audit of their accreditation applications.
Recent accounts of inconsistent clarifications from the National Organic
Program (NOP) calls into question whether the NOP is equitably reviewing
and scrutinizing all organic certifying agents' applications for accreditation.

In addition to the
lack of oversight for the accreditation process, there is also increasing
concern that the USDA is abusing its authority by creating loopholes
in enforcement of the organic standards. One company has attempted to
pressure the NOP into relaxing the 100 percent organic feed requirement
for organic chicken production. Such exemptions would quickly erode
consumer confidence in organic foods and erode the industry.

"The Center
for Food Safety will be monitoring the USDA to ensure that the organic
standards are upheld and that no exemptions are allowed," stated
Rebecca Spector, campaign director for CFS. "The organic label
must live up to the expectations of the millions of consumers that have
come to expect quality and integrity from organic foods."